This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. Primary support for the subproject and the subproject's principal investigator may have been provided by other sources, including other NIH sources. The Total Cost listed for the subproject likely represents the estimated amount of Center infrastructure utilized by the subproject, not direct funding provided by the NCRR grant to the subproject or subproject staff. Experimental data, NMR, is available which shows that Neu5Ac and Neu5Gc have different 3D conformations. Aside from chemical differences between Neu5Ac and Neu5Gc, these 3D structural differences may also provide a mechanism for differences in biological recognition. Various polymers of Neu5Ac and Neu5Gc will be compared using Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations to determine the 3D shapes of the polymers and comparisons will be made to experimental data of identical polymer lengths. Additionally, polymers without experimental data will be studied to provide predictive data for future experimental comparisons.